Let Go
by honuaikane
Summary: Sara decides she needs to let go of Grissom. Meanwhile, there are dead dolphins and body parts in the middle of the desert. antiGSR, proGregSara
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm trying to be a writer. Let me know how I'm doing.

Dis: Don't own any CSI characters, do own any dead marine mammals.

* * *

Sara Sidle looks at the forked stick with the cocoon attached to it, finally making a decision. She takes it out of the aquarium and puts it in her bag before going to the locker room to get her stuff so she can leave.

"Hey Sara." Greg says, walking into the locker room and looking down at his shoes nervously before glancing at her again. "You, um, want to go get some coffee?"

Sara looks up at Greg from her seat where she is changing her shoes. "Uh…sorry Greg, but I have something to do." She notices his crestfallen expression and adds, "How 'bout tomorrow?"

Greg's face goes from disappointed to ecstatic in 2 seconds, and he tells her that would be awesome before bounding out of the room. Sara watches him go with a smile on her face, grabs her bags, and leaves the crime lab.

* * *

"Willows." Catherine answers her phone as she opens the door to her apartment. She's surprised to hear the voice on the other end, but that's what she gets for not looking at the caller i.d.

"Hi Cath." Grissom begins, "I'm just calling to let you know I'll be on sabbatical for 4 more weeks. The university asked me to do another run, so I decided to stay."

"Ooookkkay," Catherine answers, "but why did you call me?"

"I just thought you could tell the others without making a big deal out of it. And make sure you tell Nick that I really am coming back. I don't want him to fly over here to try to hug me goodbye again."

"Um..yeah, sure. Whatever. Is that the only reason you called?" Catherine asks, kind of annoyed that she has to be the bearer of bad news to the team. She knows they aren't big fans of Keppler ever since the incident with the backwards crime scene, and they are definitely all ready for Grissom to come back.

"Yeah, that's it. Say hello to Sara for me." Grissom says, before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Catherine rolls her eyes and closes her cell phone, flopping down on the couch.

* * *

When Sara arrives at Sandstone Ridge Park, she walks down one of the jogging trails, looking for a semi-secluded spot. She finds one a few yards from the trail, and kneels down next to a sapling. Taking Grissom's branch from her bag, she props it up against the tree, looking at it for a few moments.

_Grissom, seriously, what did you mean by sending me this stupid thing? No letter, or note, or anything. Who cares if it's going to turn into a butterfly? What will you do then, kill it and pin it up in one of those glass cases at your house? Like you kill everything else beautiful in your life? We spend a few nights together and you think I can read your mind now? You think you can leave all of a sudden with no explanation, tell me you'll miss me, and that's supposed to make sense to me?_

Sara stands up, looking down at the cocoon for a few more seconds, and then turns to go.

_This is it. I'm not accepting anything else from you Grissom. If you won't give me your whole heart, then I don't even want fractions of it._

Sara walks away from the tree, back down the path.

_I'm letting you go._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Still trying. Any liberties I take with sampling from frozen dolphins are for the sake of the story. Also, if I make mistakes they're my fault because I don't have a beta. Looking for a beta and for someone to tell me what a beta is.

Dis: Still don't own CSI. Still own the dolphins.

* * *

"All right guys. I have some news from Grissom." Catherine announces, sitting down at the table. "He's decided to extend his sabbatical for an extra four weeks. He called me yesterday to tell me that. Nick, he told me to let you know that he really is coming back, so don't go try to hug him again, and Sara, he says hi." 

Sara looks up sharply at that, then back down the notebook she was doodling in. Nick laughs, and then groans as he realizes this means that Keppler will be sticking with the team for even longer.

"Anyways, back to business. Sara, you and Greg have an interesting case at a truck stop on Hwy 15. Let's just say dolphins."

Greg stops listening to the rest of the assignments and looks at Sara. "Dolphins?" He mouths to Sara, and she gives him a questioning look and a shrug.

After everyone has their jobs, Sara and Greg head for the Denali. She sees his puppy dog look and frowns. "No, Greg, you do not get to drive. That look so doesn't work on me."

* * *

When the two get to their scene, they see a large refrigerated semi truck taped off. The officer at the scene sees them and waves them over. 

"You're never going to believe this one." He says. "Woman claims she wanted to get a head start on removing tissue samples from the frozen fish she's transporting to Wisconsin, and she finds a body. Or, pieces of a body, I guess you could say."

"I thought we were going to be looking at dolphins?" Greg questions the officer, who glares at him.

"Fish, dolphins, whatever. They both got fins."

"But, uh, fish breathe water and dolphins have to go to the surface—" Greg is interrupted by Sara.

"Greg, can you question the woman while I process the inside of the trailer?" Sara asks, and Greg nods in assent, walking away from the officer who is still glaring at him.

Sara makes her way into the trailer, looking around with interest. There are six large wooden boxes, and one of them is open, showing a dead dolphin lying on its side. Its stomach has a cut down the middle of it, and taking a closer look, she sees that there is a human foot stuffed inside.

"Hi, I'm Greg Sanders." Greg says to the woman the officer pointed out as the driver of the truck. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Yeah, um, I'm Pikake Hokuikekai. I work for Hawaii Pacific University and NOAA, and we're bringing these dead stranders to a college in Wisconsin for marine biology classes there to necropsy. I wanted to get a head start on taking samples from them so that the classes would have something to compare their results to, and then I found the…um…the foot in the _Stenella's_ stomach." Pikake replies, looking a little queasy. She had necropsied many marine mammals, but never encountered a dead human before.

"_Stenella_?" Greg asks.

"Oh, it's a genus of dolphin. Sorry." Pikake answers.

"Ah, I see. So, you said we, are you traveling with someone else?"

"Yeah, my partner, Chris Wilk" Pikake points to a blonde man not far away who is talking to a police officer. "He's the reason we're in Nevada, actually. He has family near Vegas, and since we get to choose our route across the country, he decided we should stop by for a visit."

"Hey Greg?" Sara calls from the truck, "I'm gonna need some help getting all these boxes open. We have to see if the rest of the body can be found."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I feel like my chapters should be longer, but then I get to their ends and I don't want to add more. Anywayz, got no beta so there's probly mistakes.

Dis: Do I really need a disclaimer? I think we all know that I don't own C.S.I.

* * *

"You can see that these boxes were closed up again quickly." Greg says to Sara as they get a start on prying out the nails. "The nails aren't even in all of the way and most of them are bent out of shape."

"You're right." Sara replies, "Listen, I'm going to go ask the woman that found the foot how we're supposed to cut open frozen animals to find the other body parts. What was her name?"

"Uh…Pik something. She's from Hawaii, her name was weird."

Sara glares at Greg as she passes him to go outside. "Big help Greg. Too busy flirting with her to catch her name?"

"Sara, you're the only one I flirt with." Greg says with a wink. "And it's obviously working, since you agreed to get coffee with me today. Hey, you're not gonna cop out on me are you?"

"No, no. We can still go. But as for the flirting thing, I'll believe that when I see it. Or lack of it, I guess."

Sara jumps out of the truck, leaving Greg to open the boxes. _She asks me to come help her and then leaves._ He thinks to himself. _Smooth one, Sara. I know you just don't want to do the hard work._ Not that he wouldn't gladly do it for her, though.

* * *

"Have you seen Sara?" Kellie, the intern that hands out the mail asks Hodges as the two pass each other. "I have a letter for her."

"Oh? Who's it from?" Hodges asks, curious why Sara would be getting a letter at work.

"Grissom."

"She's, uh, out in the field right now. But I can give it to her if you want. I'm sure you don't want to have to wait around all day just to give her mail." Hodges replies, already trying to think of a way to open the envelope and then close it again without Sara knowing.

"Thanks so much!" Kellie replies. "I'm meeting my friends after work, and as soon as I finish handing out the mail I can leave. You're awesome, Hodges."

"Hey, no problem." He takes the letter and walks back to Trace, not noticing that Nick is following behind him.

"Hodges!" Nick calls out as he turns out of the hallway. "What are you doing with Sara's mail?"

"What are you talking about? Why would I have Sara's mail?" Hodges asks, trying to act innocent while holding the letter behind his back.

Nick walks over, reaches behind him, and yanks the letter out of his hand. "You know it's a federal offense to open someone else's mail, right? I will get this to Sara. Thanks for your help though." Nick grins at him and leaves the room.

Hodges mutters under his breath at Nick before getting back to work. _Nobody lets me have any fun._

* * *

Sara sets down the hairdryer she had been using to thaw out the stomach of the last dolphin and pulls apart the two edges of the cut down its middle. She writes 'head' next to the entry in her notes for the sixth animal.

"Well, here's the head. Definitely have a whole body in here, and it looks like all the pieces belong to the same one. Doc will have fun getting it back together. Looks like we'll have to take all of the animals to the lab so we can finish thawing them and getting the body and any evidence out."

"Do you think he'll have room for all this? I mean, they're kind of big aren't they?" Greg replies, eyeing the large animals and the boxes holding them.

"He'll have to make room. And if nothing else, we can take one of them in at a time and leave the rest in the truck. They can't be THAT much bigger than a bear." Sara answers before exiting out to the parking lot to make arrangements.

Greg sighs and follows her out. He watches her talk to Pikake and Chris about taking the truck to the crime lab. Pikake looks worried but Chris looks angry. He'll have to remember to get the guy in for questioning. First things first though, they have to figure out who the vic is.

"Will we be able to have them back after you get the body out?" Pikake asks Sara as Greg walks up. "It's not like we can just pick up some more somewhere."

"This is ridiculous." Chris says with disgust. "Why can't you just take your body parts and be on your way so we can be on ours?"

"Well, we need to make sure we get all of the pieces out in a controlled setting so that we can make sure we don't miss any evidence. And you will be able to have them back. They might not be in as good a shape as they are now, but there's not really any way that they can be kept as evidence. We'll call you as soon as we're done with them. Of course, first you both need to come down to the police station for questioning. The officer over there can give you a ride." The two wander over to the man that Sara indicated, and she grins at Greg. "Now we just have to get the truck to the lab. Ever driven a semi?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Wasn't gonna post tonight but then I wanted to vent so I decided to finish this chapter. Where was Greg on today's episode? Not to be found. Sadness. I used to be a GSR shipper but now I'm not so it's sad the way the show is going.

Dis: Don't own CSI, if I did, we would see a lot more of Greg.

THANK YOU so much to all of the people that have reviewed!! I love it! You guys are the reason I'm still writing, since when I started this I said to myself that I would quit if nobody reviewed me. So you all are awesome.

* * *

"Greg, when I asked you if you've ever driven a semi, I honestly never thought that you would say yes." Sara says as she climbs up into the passenger seat. "I mean really, a semi?"

"What? When I was an undergrad I had a part-time job as a truck driver. Is it really that hard to believe?" Sara laughs as he starts up the truck. He shoots her a hurt look. "I can't believe you would laugh at me for that. I was a poor college student! I needed a job and that was all I could find."

"You just wanted to be able to drive around in a big truck while blasting your crazy music, Greg, admit it."

"Haha. Very funny."

"No, it's cool. This way, we don't have to wait around for someone that is licensed to drive one of these. We've already got you, a man of many talents." Sara replies with a smile.

The two sit in silence while Greg maneuvers the truck out of the truck stop and onto the highway.

"I wonder how the dolphins died."

"I don't think that really matters Greg." Sara replies.

"But it probably does to somebody. Why else would they be sending them over to some college for the students to practice on? There must be, like, C.S.I.s of dolphins instead of humans."

"Well, they have it easy then. They don't really have to worry about the nastier aspects of killing, like when parents kill a child or a husband abuses a wife." Sara replies.

Greg notices the upset look on Sara's face, worried that he said something wrong. I'm sorry Sara, I didn't mean to make you upset. They're just dolphins."

"Oh, no, Greg it's not your fault. You're right about the dolphins anyway. I'm sure there are people that figure out how they died, and they probably get attached to them sometimes too. You know how many people love those things, that's why there's so many Sea Worlds and aquariums." Sara notices that as they've been talking, Greg has slowed down to 10 mph below the speed limit. "I should probably shut up now. Driving this truck isn't as easy as it used to be, is it?"

Greg gives Sara a sheepish look and then turns back to the road, speeding up a little. "You're right. It's been a while since I drove one of these." They travel in companionable silence the rest of the way to the lab.

* * *

"Hey, Sara, you got a letter from Grissom." Nick tells Sara as he walks into the break room where she is getting coffee. "I rescued it from Hodges, he got the intern to give it to him and was trying to hide it from me."

"Um…thanks Nick." Sara says, with a glance over at Greg to see if he noticed their conversation. Greg doesn't look up, but she doesn't know if that's a good sign or not. "I wonder why he sent me a letter." She takes it from Nick, going to sit down at the table to open it.

Greg moves over to get some coffee himself and then sits across from Sara. She skims through the letter, noticing that there is no mention of him staying on sabbatical longer. _Typical._ She thinks to herself. _Even though he tries to send me a stupid love poem, he's too scared to tell me himself that he's not coming back yet._ Sara notices Greg studying the table top, despite the fact that there's nothing on it. She gets up and crumples the letter before throwing it into the trash.

"I'm going to go tell Doc to start on either the _Kogia_ or the _Tursiops_ first. They're the ones with the hands, so we can try to get a hit on the fingerprints from AFIS. You want to come?"

"Definitely." Greg replies, following Sara out.

* * *

"Hey, Cath, I finished up my case. Turns out the kid 'ran away' right out into the backyard and fell asleep. The reason the parents couldn't find him was because they didn't know that the big tree in the backyard has a hollow trunk. New house, so makes sense I guess." Warrick says after he walks into Catherine's office and sits down. "Chalk one up for the good guys."

"Well, we're the good guys, yeah, but I hardly think finding a kid in the backyard is fighting bad guys. If you want a real challenge, you can help Doc with his necropsies." Catherine replies. "I'm just about to head down there myself. Six dead dolphins and we need to examine them all."

"Sara and Greg's case, right? Why are we examining animals?" Warrick asks.

"There's a cut up body inside of them. I honestly don't have any new cases right now, so I offered us up to help until something else comes along."

"Sure, let's go." Warrick replies. "Say, what happened to Keppler? I haven't seen him around tonight."

"Ecklie moved him to days; I guess they're really behind." Catherine replies as they go out into the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Don't know anything about freezing bodies, so any mistakes in that area are my fault. I work at Starbucks so it's OK for me to bash it (I think anyway). Still no beta.

Dis: Nope, don't own them.

* * *

"Well, cause of death is obvious." Doc Robbins says to Sara as they examine the pieces of body laid out on the table. "He was shot in the head. Due to the extent of freezing, I would say that the body parts were put into the animals recently, probably while the truck has been in Nevada."

"Any luck at getting the bullet?" Sara asks.

"Sorry, but it shattered on impact. The best I would be able to do is fragments, which as we both know, isn't very helpful."

"Yeah…thanks anyway. I guess I'll go ask Greg if he found anything in the truck."

Sara leaves the autopsy room and goes out to the truck. She notices that all of the dolphins are back in their respective places.

"Greg?" Sara calls, climbing up into the trailer before noticing his feet peeking out from behind one of the boxes.

"Got it!" Greg exclaims, wiggling out with a hairdryer in one of his gloved hands. "Oh, hey Sar. How's the body?"

"Shot in the head, bullet fragmented, and it was probably hidden in state." Sara replies, taking in Greg's disheveled and very dirty appearance. "What were you doing, rolling around on the floor in here?"

"Hey, you do what you gotta do to get the evidence. I found a hairdryer, but as you can see it wasn't easy to get to. Could be the one used to thaw the dolphins to put the parts in. I'm going to go print it. Otherwise, I found a couple footprints, but there were no prints on the boxes and I didn't find the hammer used on the nails." Greg replies. "Have you questioned Pikake or  
Chris yet?"

"No, they're bringing Chris in in a little bit. I was wondering if you wanted to be in on it too?"

"Definitely. I'll just go print this quick, see if can get anything to run through AFIS, and then I'll meet you over there, OK?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go find out if Doc can give me a better timeline for freezing the body. If we know when it started freezing, we'll know when the person had to be there putting the pieces in."

* * *

"Your partner says you were visiting family in Nevada." Captain Brass says to Chris in the interrogation room. "Was one of them in trouble, asked you to transport a body out of state for you?"

"You know, I don't have to answer your stupid questions. You don't have anything on me." He answers, giving Brass and the two C.S.I.s a look of contempt.

"You're right, but it's in your best interest to cooperate. You refuse to answer our questions, you start looking a little guilty, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, well I'm not guilty of anything. I don't know how those body parts got in there. I don't go near the carcasses unless it's absolutely necessary. I hate dead things, they creep me out."

"Where were you on Wednesday? It appears that the body was beginning to freeze on Wednesday night, so if you have an alibi for that time, then I guess we can believe that you're telling the truth." Sara asks him.

"I was out with my friends that night, from about 10:00pm to 4:00am. You can call them up." He gives them the numbers of his friends, and Sara and Greg leave the room to get a start on checking his alibi.

"OK, Chris, you can go." Brass says, standing up. "But as you know, don't leave town. We might still have some questions."

* * *

"So same story from everyone." Greg says to Sara as they walk to the locker room. "Chris was definitely out with his friends that night, until about 12:30 when he disappeared for two hours. Nobody knows where he went."

"Yeah, we'll have to question him again. But do you really think two hours is enough time to cut up a body and stuff it into the dolphins? It took us that long just to thaw the dolphins enough to look inside." Sara replies, opening her locker to put her stuff away.

"Maybe the body was already cut up and he just had to stuff them in. That shouldn't take that long."

"Someone had to cut it up, then, so it would mean he did that already or he's working with someone."

"You're right. Well we can question Pikake next shift, see if she had anything to do with it. Right now, however, shift is over and we are going to get some coffee." Greg grins, "Remember you said you'd go on this date with me."

"Wait a minute. Date? I never agreed to dating you Greg."

"Fine, fine, not a date. Just coffee. Are you driving or am I?"

"I'll drive." Sara replies, punching Greg lightly as she passes him on their way out. "Sometimes I really wonder about you Greg."

"Wonder about what? How someone as awesome and cool as me agrees to hang out with you? I wonder it too sometimes." Greg laughs at the look Sara shoots him, and they both walk outside and to her car.

* * *

"Starbucks?" Greg questions as they pull into the parking lot. "Seriously Sara, you're taking me to Starbucks? There's like one of these every five feet. They are totally overrated."

"Shut up Greg. You didn't specify what kind of coffee you wanted, and I like Starbucks. So to Starbucks we will go. If you're not happy, I can take you back to your car and you can go home."

"No, no. Don't do that. If you want to go to Starbucks, we can go to Starbucks."

"Good."

The two walk into the coffee shop and get in line. Greg studies the menu while Sara tries to decide if she wants a pastry or not. When they finally get to the register, they both order their drinks and fight over who will pay, the cashier finally taking the money from Greg with a smile.

"I always think it's funny when people fight over paying." the girl says, giving him his change. "If someone wanted to buy me coffee, I definitely wouldn't stop them."

Sara glares at Greg as he grins at the girl. "Tell me about it. She should just be happy that she doesn't have to spend her hard-earned money."

They wait for their drinks and then sit down in two overstuffed chairs in a corner.

"So, what's so special about your 'grande soy with whip white mocha' that you just had to come to Starbucks to get?" Greg asks, taking a sip of his coffee. "And what's with the fluffy stuff? Don't you usually just drink coffee, like normal people?"

"Ha ha Greg. Yes, I usually just drink coffee, but sometimes I like to have a 'fluffy' drink instead. It puts some fun in my life." Sara laughs.

"Hmm. If you say so. Personally I prefer my Blue Hawaiian."

"OK, Starbucks can be expensive, but it is nothing to your Blue Hawaiian, $40 a pound, special coffee. So don't even start on me Greg."

The two laugh before changing the subject, talking about all manner of things while enjoying their coffee. Afterwards Sara drives Greg back to his car at the lab. Greg looks at Sara, not making a move to get out of the car.

"It was fun, Sar. Thanks for getting coffee with me."

"No problem Greg. You know we always have a good time together. I'll see you in a few hours."

Greg sighs and climbs out, not noticing the look on Sara's face as he walks over to his car.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Once again thanks to my reviewers. You rock!!

Dis: Don't own CSI, though it would be fun if I did.

* * *

"Hey Greg." Sara says as she gets out of her car, Greg having pulled into the space next to hers only seconds after she had parked. "Ready to solve this case?"

"For sure." Greg replies. They walk into the crime lab together. Greg makes coffee while they wait for the rest of the team to arrive. Warrick and Nick are first, followed by Catherine.

"I have some bad news." Catherine says to them as she sits at the head of the table with tears in her eyes. "Keppler was killed on the job today."

"What?!" Nick exclaims. "How did it happen?"

Catherine explains how Keppler had been in a bad situation in the past with covering up a crime and getting rid of evidence. "Evidently, the case he was working on had a cop he knew from the past as the prime suspect. He tried to apprehend him and the guy shot him."

"I knew he was shady." Nick says and then notices the glare that Catherine is giving him. "What? I'm sorry he died, I'm just saying there was always something weird about him."

"Yeah, well, everyone can have their own opinions I guess. But I don't really think that now is the time to be bad-mouthing him."

"OK, you're right. I'm sorry."

"I just wanted to let you guys know what happened so you're prepared for any questions people might ask you." Catherine says, before picking up her assignment slips and handing them out. "But, life goes on and so we need to get to work. Sara and Greg, you guys are on your own again. Nick, you get to go solo. B and E in Henderson. Warrick, you're with me."

Everyone leaves except Greg and Sara. "I'm glad we're on our own again. We need some alone time." Greg raises his eyebrows at Sara.

Sara laughs and stands up. "Well, we won't be getting alone time for very long. Brass is bringing Pikake in in about 15 minutes."

"Well we should make the most of that 15 minutes then."

"Yep, that's why I'm going to go see if there's a match to the fingerprints from the hair-dryer you found yesterday and you are going to go get a warrant for Chris's shoes." Sara laughs at the disappointed look on Greg's face as she walks out.

Greg grumbles as he watches her leave.

* * *

Pikake looks at the three people on the other side of the table nervously. "Am I in trouble for something?"

"No." Greg replies. "We just need to ask you some questions about the case."

"Chris told us that dead things creep him out. Is that true?" Sara asks.

"Um, well, he didn't really like having to be involved with touching any dead animals, but he would do it if asked to."

Sara shows Pikake a picture of the corpse's head. "Does this man look familiar to you? Have you ever seen him before?"

Pikake shakes her head no.

"Do you know of any enemies that Chris has here in Nevada? Did he mention anybody he disliked or anything?"

"No." Pikake answers. "But we weren't close or anything. Just co-workers. He's always kind of gotten on my nerves, so I don't really encourage him to confide in me."

"Where were you on Wednesday night?"

"I was in the hotel, asleep. I guess I can't really prove that, though, since I was alone."

"Well, if you tell us what hotel you were in and what floor, we can use any surveillance cameras they have to confirm that you didn't leave." Greg says, then writes down the information she gives him.

The two C.S.I.s ask Pikake a few more questions before allowing her to leave.

"Now what?" Greg asks Sara. "The fingerprints from the hairdryer don't match Chris or anyone in AFIS, and we don't have any other leads."

"We still have to check his shoes, since the footprint was obviously male. We'll just have to figure out the rest if his shoes don't match."

* * *

"What do you guys want?" Chris Wilk questions as he opens the door to his hotel room. "I already answered all of your questions."

"We just want to see your shoes." Sara replies, brushing past him.

"My shoes?"

"Yep." Greg shows him the warrant. "So give 'em up."

Chirs gets three pairs of shoes from various locations around the room and shows them to Sara, who compares them to the marking from the print in the truck. Unfortunately, Chris's shoes are a size smaller than the print and none of them are even the same type of shoe.

"I can't believe this." Greg complains to Sara after they leave the hotel. "None of them match, and we have no other suspects. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. There's always the possibility that this crime was completely random. But it does seem kind of weird that they wouldn't just bury the body somewhere. It's a lot harder work to stick it in those dolphins." Sara replies, feeling as frustrated about the case as Greg.

"There's no way it's random. I just don't believe it. Tomorrow I am going to go through the whole truck all over again. We must have missed something."

Sara gives Greg a doubtful look before shrugging her shoulders. "I guess we might as well try. Don't have anything to lose, right?"

"We should check Pikake's shoes too. I didn't pay attention to her feet, but maybe they're freakishly large or something?"

"Freakishly large? That's very flattering." Sara glances down at her own feet. "How big of feet do you have to have for them to be considered 'freakishly large'?" She asks Greg.

Noticing Sara looking at her feet, Greg blushes slightly. "Um...forget I said that. It wasn't very nice. And I would never consider your feet to be freakishly large."

Sara laughs at Greg. "Well that's good to know. And I was just giving you a hard time. You're right; we should check Pikake's shoes. We can go get a warrant quick and then go to her hotel before end of shift."

* * *

"How's your case going?" Warrick asks Greg in the locker room a few hours later.

"Awful. We have absolutely no remaining suspects or leads. Tomorrow we're going to look through the truck again and see if we missed anything, but it's not looking good."

"Man, that sucks. How's Sara taking it?"

"Better than me actually. Or at least that's how it seems. She's been in a really good mood lately, I don't know what happened."

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Warrick answers. "I would think, with Gris gone, she'd be more depressed than normal, but-" Warrick notices the look on Greg's face and stops. "Sorry dude, I forgot it was a sore subject for you."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it. I'm just trying to enjoy this time while he's gone. I mean, the man's awesome, but he really cramps my style, you know?" Greg finishes with a grin at Warrick.

Warrick laughs and slaps Greg on the back, walking out of the room. "Good luck Greg. Maybe it's a sign, Sara being happy while Gris is gone."

_Yeah…a sign._ Greg sits on the bench for a few moments before getting up to leave, feeling a little more hopeful.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I'm pretending Sara saw Nick take off his shirt in 'Pledging Mr. Johnson". Any mistakes are my fault cuz I have no beta.

Dis: Don't own 'em.

* * *

Sara heads into work, wondering what they're going to do about their dead-end case. She couldn't sleep last night because she was thinking about it so much. It's so frustrating when there are no leads and all she wants to do is figure it all out.

"Gee, Sara, you look terrible." Nick says to her when she passes him.

"Uh, thanks." Sara glares at Nick and continues down the hallway.

"Hey Sara-" Greg starts, but Sara cuts him off before he can finish his sentence.

"I know I look awful Greg, I don't need another person pointing that out to me."

"But, I wasn't going to tell you that you looked awful. I was just going to say hi. Who's telling you that you look awful?"

"Just Nick. I hate how people feel the need to tell others how awful they look, as if that won't make them feel worse."

"You want me to go beat him up?"

Sara laughs. "Gosh, no, Greg. I don't want you killed."

"Hey, I could take him."

"You couldn't even take me Greg. I'm just stressed out about this stupid case."

"I knew it! You were just pretending that it wasn't bothering you. And you're right; I couldn't take you, because I would never fight a girl."

"Hmph. I still don't think you could take Nick. I've seen both of you with no shirts on and Nick's got a little more muscle than you."

"Why was Nick taking his shirt off for you?" Greg replies.

"Oh, he had something hideous on one day, and I told him that, so he changed his shirt."

"And he just stripped down right there?"

Sara grins evilly at Greg. "Yep, I don't know what it is, but something about me just makes guys want to take off their clothes."

"Hey! I didn't have a choice; we could have been exposed to some killing disease!"

The two laugh and head over to the break room for the team meeting.

* * *

After the meeting, Sara tells Greg not to wait for her while she talks to Catherine. Greg heads out to the refrigerated truck to process it again. He notices that the evidence tape across the door is broken, so he opens the door to tell whoever it is to get out. Someone comes flying out of the truck, trying to jump past Greg. He grabs the person by their leg, shouting for help as the two scrabble around on the ground.

"Freeze!" Sara yells out, gun drawn and pointing at the pair.

The stranger stops trying to fight, and Greg is sitting on top of her. Sara gets her cell phone out and calls for back-up, and Brass shows up a few minutes later.

"You can get off of her now, Greg." Brass says, moving over to pat the woman down and to put her in hand cuffs. He leads her away after reading her rights and telling the two C.S.I.s that they can question her in about half an hour.

Greg flops down on the ground, sporting a few new bruises and a cut across his cheek.

"You OK Greg?" Sara asks, kneeling down next to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My cheek hurts though." He wipes away some blood. "I hope I don't need stitches."

"It doesn't look that deep. If you're lucky it won't even leave a scar. Do you want me to get you anything? We have a little while til we can question that woman."

"Nah, you don't need to get me anything. You could kiss it and make it better, though." Greg winks at Sara.

She laughs. "Greg, no. I am not kissing you at work, not even because you're wounded."

"One time you said you could."

Sara doesn't say anything, just gets up to close the truck door and put new evidence tape on it, to prevent anyone from going into it again. Greg watches her and then stands up as she finishes.

"Hey, what ever happened to you saying that you would never fight a girl?" Sara questions as they walk back into the crime lab.

"Fine. Change the subject. And I think when it's a matter of a suspect getting away or not, I have a right to change my mind. It wasn't really fighting anyway; I was just trying to stop her from getting away."

"You should have called for back-up before you even opened the door Greg."

"I know, but I assumed it was just someone from here snooping around."

"Next time, don't assume. You were lucky she didn't have a gun or something."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Greg rolls his eyes at Sara.

"I probably would have done the same thing." Sara says, "But don't tell anyone. Now come on, let's go patch you up."

* * *

"Excuse me." Pikake says to the woman at the front desk. "I need to talk to either Greg Sanders or Sara Sidle."

The woman picks up the phone and dials a number, asking a few questions of the person on the other end. She hangs up and turns to Pikake. "I'm sorry, but they're about to question a suspect. However, I'll have this officer escort you to the waiting room over there so that you can wait for them."

Pikake follows the man through the hallways, but as she turns one of the corners she sees someone she never actually thought she'd see again, being escorted in handcuffs by a different officer.

"Pua?!" Pikake exclaims, amazed that her sister would be here, of all places, in handcuffs.

Pua just glares at Pikake as she is lead past. Greg and Sara, who had been following the two, look at each other in surprise.

"Guess we split up on this one?" Greg asks. "You can have Pua, I'll take Pikake."

"Yeah, you just don't want to get beat up again." Sara laughs as she follows Pua and her officer into an interrogation room.

Greg doesn't reply to this and walks over to Pikake. "I'm sorry miss, but it looks like we'll have to question you again."

She nods her head. Greg asks her escort to go find an officer and send him in. Pikake follows Greg into the room and the sit down to wait.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So sorry about the semi-long absence, but there was a death in the family so I had to go back to WI for the funeral, and I kind of just disappeared from my life for a week. Which is also why this chap is so short, but I thought it would be better than nothing.

Dis: Still don't own nothing.

* * *

"So, how do you know Pikake?" Sara asks Pua, who sullenly ignores her. "You know, you'll make it much easier on yourself if you answer our questions."

"I don't have to answer your questions until I get a lawyer." Pua says.

"Your lawyer is on his way. But there's nothing wrong with talking before he gets here."

"She's my sister." Pua says.

"Do you two not get along or something? You didn't look very happy to see her."

"She's a bitch." Pua replies. "I hate her."

"What happened that made you hate her?" Sara questions. "Has it always been this way?"

"Yeah, she's always been a bitch. Always making my parents like her better, stealing my friends, my men. Pretending she's perfect and making everybody hate me."

"I see. What were you doing in the truck today?"

"Nothing." Pua replies. "It's none of your business."

"Actually it is, because that truck is an active crime scene. Didn't you see the tape?"

Pua doesn't answer and then her lawyer arrives, sitting down next to her.

* * *

"Who's Pua?" Greg asks Pikake, sitting across from her.

"She's my sister." Pikake answers, tears in her eyes. "What did she do? Why is she here? Is she going to jail?"

"We don't know yet. But she was snooping around the truck and we want to know why."

Pikake notices the cut on Greg's cheek. "Did she do that to you? She's always been violent."

"Yeah, she did. So you two didn't get along?"

"No. She's always been very angry. She hates me, no matter what I do to try to fix it. My parents always paid more attention to me. I was the smart one and she was the athletic one. My parents didn't really care about athletics at all, so she always felt ignored I think. She blames me for everything that goes wrong in her life."

"Did she know that you were going to be in Nevada?"

"Yeah." Pikake answers. "I e-mail her every month. She never answers, but I'm just hoping some day. But I told her that I'd be driving through with the truck."

"And you said that you didn't recognize the body, right?"

"Right. But if it was someone that knew Pua, I wouldn't. She hasn't tried to contact any of her family since she left Hawaii, besides telling us her address. I don't even know what she does for a living."

* * *

"How did your interview go?" Greg asks Sara as they meet after questioning their suspects.

"It was going OK until her lawyer showed up and started advising her on which questions to answer. Basically found out she hates her sister."

"Yep, that's what I got too. Pikake says that she e-mails her sister every month to tell her what's going on with the family, but she never gets an answer or anything. Says she wouldn't know anything about Pua's life because of that. Did Pua recognize the body?"

"Actually, she did. Said they used to work together, at some restaurant. Only knew his first name, which is Tyler. Thought we could head over there and find out who our DB actually is."

"Cool. Let's go." Greg says, so they head out to the parking lot.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks so much to my new beta, Jesus.Lives. I'm happy I found someone, but I guess it was actually the other way around, I was found. Anywayz, enjoy the chapter and everyone that reviews is awesome!!

Dis: Are these even really necessary?

* * *

"Yeah, I know Tyler. Hasn't been here for 2 weeks. Tried to call him but he didn't answer, so I just figured he quit without notice. Something happen to him?" John, the manager of El Azteca replies to Greg. He and Sara had found the restaurant where Tyler worked and were now questioning the manager and other workers.

"Actually, he's dead. He was cut up and stuffed into frozen dolphin carcasses. Do you know of anyone that would want to do that to him?" Greg says coolly.

"What? Cut up? No, I don't know that Tyler had any enemies. He was always real nice to everybody."

"Do you know Pua Hokuikekai?" Greg asks. "She told us she used to work here too."

"Yeah, but only for 3 weeks. She was really rude to the customers and nobody really liked her, so I had to fire her. Come to think of it, Tyler tried to get me to give her a second chance, but I told him I couldn't."

"You have Tyler's address, right? We want to go check out where he lives, see if there's any clues left behind."

"Yeah, yeah. Let me get that for you." John walks into the back of the restaurant.

"Hey, what did you find out?" Sara walks up to Greg after questioning the last of the employees. Greg gives Sara a summary of what he had been told, and she nods her head. "Yeah, everyone else said that Tyler was a great guy. They didn't know anything about his personal life though, said he never really socialized with them outside of work. They also said that Pua was pretty mean and they were glad when she left."

"Here's Tyler's address." John hands Greg a piece of paper. "I really hope you figure something out."

"Thanks." Greg replies, and then turns to Sara. "Shall we?"

* * *

"It looks like somebody broke in." Sara observes as the two of them approach Tyler's house. "That window pane in the door is missing."

The officer that is accompanying them opens the door and goes in. "I'll be back in a minute, just let me clear the house." He says to them before disappearing.

"So when's our second date?" Greg asks Sara while they wait.

"Well, since we never went on a first date, I don't see how we can have a second one Greg." Sara replies with a grin.

Greg frowns at Sara as the officer comes back outside. "All's clear. Have at it." He says, so the two walk into the house.

"But if you want to go to breakfast after shift, that's fine." Sara says. "I'll take the bedrooms, you can start in here." She indicates the living room, and then wanders down the hallway.

Greg looks after her for a minute, shaking his head before getting down to business. He processes the living room, but only picks up a few prints and not much else. It looks like the room had been cleaned recently. Greg moves on to the kitchen, noticing it also looks spotless. While examining the sink, he notices that it looks like paper of some sort had been stuffed down the garbage disposal, so he picks out a few remnants of it from the drain. Then he gets underneath the sink to take the whole disposal out.

"Hey, Greg?" Sara calls as she comes into the kitchen. She notices Greg struggling with the garbage disposal and laughs to herself. "Having fun in there?"

After a few more bumps, Greg comes up from underneath the sink with the disposal in hand. "Oh yeah, lots of fun; but I found what looks like photos stuck down inside the drain, so I have to take the whole thing into the lab and see what I can get out of it."

"I found a thong tucked into the sheets on the bed. That means that Tyler wasn't spending his nights alone, at least. Other than that, everything has been cleaned. I'm going to go see if there's anything left in any of the dumpsters in the alley out back. You done in here?"

"No." Greg replies. "But I don't have much left. This room and the living room have been cleaned too. Looks like whoever killed Tyler is trying to cover their tracks."

Sara goes outside and Greg finishes processing the kitchen, once again only finding a few prints. He walks out to the alley.

"I found some blood on one of the dumpsters, but otherwise it was empty." Sara says as Greg joins her. "So I guess we're done here."

"How about our date?" Greg asks, unable to help himself.

"Breakfast, Greg, not a date."

The two of them load their stuff into the Denali and drive to the lab to drop off the evidence.

* * *

"So, Greg, are you happy being a C.S.I.? Do you miss the lab at all?" Sara asks Greg as they wait for their food. The restaurant is pretty busy, but they're seated in a small corner booth that is semi-isolated.

"You know, I really don't miss it. When I was in the lab, I was so jealous of all the C.S.I.'s that got to go out and solve cases. I was just the 'lab rat' that nobody noticed unless they needed results."

"Is that why you were always so crazy? Did you just want attention?"

"You make me sound like a dog, Sara. I think that becoming a C.S.I. kind of helped me grow up. Can't be acting like a college student forever, right?"

"Yeah, you're right." Sara answers. "I kind of like the more serious Greg, but you still should be able to act crazy once in a while."

Greg smiles before answering, "You just need to see me more often outside of work."

The waiter brings them their food, so their conversation stops for a while. Sara's phone rings and she answers it with an apologetic look to Greg, who rolls his eyes.

"Sidle." A frown appears on Sara's voice when she realizes who is calling her. "Hi, Gris. I'm fine. Actually, I can't really talk right now. No, it's not a case. I'm on a date."

Greg looks up from his food, grinning at the blush that appears on Sara's cheeks.

"I'm sorry Gris, I really have to go. It's none of your business who I'm with." Sara hangs up her phone. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." Greg replies. "But, I thought you told me we weren't on a date."

Sara doesn't say anything, just takes a few more bites of her breakfast.

"What, were you just trying to get rid of Grissom? Tell him you're on a date so he'll leave you alone? That's nice of you." Greg frowns and puts some money down on the table. "I'm leaving."

"What? No, Greg." Sara grabs his hand, stopping him from standing up. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried. I guess."

"About what?"

"Well, as soon as we say we're dating, then it gets scary, you know? I don't want to get all attached to you and then something happen. I don't like being hurt."

"I'm already getting attached to you, Sara, and that's been before any official dates. I'm not going to just disappear, if that's what you're worried about."

The two smile at each other before getting up to leave. Sara remembers that Greg had driven the two of them.

"You weren't really going to leave me here, were you?" She asks in disbelief.

Greg laughs, "No, of course not. I just needed to get a reaction."

Sara punches him and laughs too.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: almost done with this story! but don't worry, there will be more. thanks a ton to all my reviewers, if it wasn't for you guys i would stop writing

Dis: don't own CSI but do own my ideas

* * *

"Hey, Sar, check this out." Greg calls to Sara as she passes by the layout room. "I put the pictures back together, and look who they're of."

Sara walks into the room to take a look at the photos, put together but with a few missing spots from pieces that went down the drain. "Pua and Tyler. Who would have thought? Somebody obviously wanted to get rid of these pictures."

"Yeah, seems kind of weird to me. Did you get anything on the prints?"

"I'm going over to check on them right now. Want to come?"

Greg nods and they both leave the room to go check on the prints. The computer screen has a match listed, and when they bring up the photo, they see Pua's picture.

"Well, she obviously spent time over there. Maybe they were friends or something." Greg says.

"Maybe more than that, remember the thong? The DNA work from the blood should be back soon so we can find out if it's Tyler's or not. After that, I guess we bring Pua in again, see if we can get anything else out of her." Sara says. "I'm going to go to the break room and get some coffee while we wait."

"You're lucky; I brought the good stuff today." Greg says, and they both walk over to the break room.

Sara sits down on the couch, leaning back and yawning.

"Tired?" Greg asks as he sits down next to her.

"Yeah, haven't been sleeping that great lately. Don't know what it is." Sara replies.

"You need a vacation."

"Probably."

"What? You agree? Sara, you never take vacation." Greg says with disbelief.

"I know, but that's because it's always so lonely. I have been thinking about it lately though. Do you have any vacation days saved up?"

"Yeah…why? You want to take vacation with me?"

"Well, not with you, but at the same time. Then we could hang out or something when I get bored."

Greg grins and also leans back on the couch. "I guess vacation at the same time would be cool."

* * *

"Hey, Cath, have you seen Greg and Sara?" Warrick asks Catherine in the hall. "I've got their DNA results from the lab so I thought I'd hand deliver it."

"Well that's nice of you." Catherine answers, "I think I saw them walking towards the break room about an hour ago."

"Thanks." Warrick replies, heading to the break room. He whistles quietly at the sight he finds there. Greg is laying down, asleep with his head on the couch armrest and Sara is also asleep, but she is lying almost completely on top of Greg. "Hey!" Warrick says loudly, enjoying the looks on their faces as both Sara and Greg jump up.

"Oh, um, hi Warrick." Sara says, blushing. "We just…uh…fell asleep."

"Yeah, very tired, you know?" Greg asks, grinning.

"Right. And Greg is such a comfy bed that you couldn't help yourself, huh Sara?" Warrick laughs. "I just came in here to give you your results. Found 'em at the lab when I was over there so I thought I'd pass them to you."

"Thanks Warrick." Greg says, taking the papers from him.

Warrick nods and walks out the door. Greg and Sara smile at each other before looking at the results.

"Well, looks like the blood was from Tyler. Guess we have to get the police to bring Pua in again." Sara says, getting her phone out to make the call.

* * *

"We know you were dating Tyler." Greg says to Pua. "We found the pictures. Did you stuff them down the garbage disposal?"

"Yeah." Pua answers. "But only because we had a fight and broke up. I wanted to make my point so I put them down the drain. That's not a crime."

"So you got in a fight. Were you so mad at Tyler that you killed him?"

Pua doesn't answer, instead just glares at Greg and Sara.

"You know, your sister told us that you're violent. Maybe if we bring her in for questioning again she'll tell us just how violent you can get." Sara says.

"That whore!" Pua exclaims. "She would rat out on me. She's always ruining my life. When Tyler found out she was coming through Nevada, he wanted to meet her, but I wouldn't let him! She'd steal him just like she stole my other boyfriends!"

"What do you mean you wouldn't let him meet her? Is that why we found his blood in the dumpsters behind his house?" Greg asks Pua.

"I didn't kill Tyler. I bet Pikake did it. Since she couldn't steal him from me she killed him instead and put him inside those dolphins."

"How do you know the body was inside of dolphins? Have you been talking to Pikake even though we told you not to?"

"No, I'd never talk to her, even if you hadn't told me not to. I was in the truck, remember? That's where you found me."

"Yeah, but the boxes weren't opened, their tape was still in tact. The only way you could have known about the dolphins is if you had done it. We've got you, and you know it." Greg says with a grin, waving the police officer outside the door into the room. "We want you to arrest this woman."

Pua swears at Greg as she is handcuffed and escorted from the room. Greg and Sara smile at each other.

"I think this calls for a celebration." Sara says. "Breakfast on me?"

"Oh, so now you're taking me out on a date." Greg replies. "Well, if you insist."

The two of them finish up a few details of their case before leaving at the end of shift. As they walk down the hallway, they see Pikake coming towards them.

"Hi." Pikake says when she sees them. "They called me to come get the truck. Said that Pua was the one to kill the guy. I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm really not. I was just waiting for something like this to happen. But anyways, thanks for not ruining my specimens too badly."

"No problem." Sara grins at Pikake. "Good luck with everything." She turns back to Greg, who continues to smile.

"Breakfast?"


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: sorry it took so long to update guys, for some reason I couldn't post any documents. craziness. anyway, here it is, the last chapter. there will probably be a sequel...if I get some good reviews. ; )

Dis: own the story but not the characters.

* * *

"I just don't understand how she could hate her sister so much that she killed her boyfriend just so he wouldn't meet her!" Greg exclaims to Sara as they wait for their food. "I could never hate anyone that much, especially not a family member."

"Some people are just messed up Greg. You can't understand why they do the things they do because there's no explanation that makes sense." Sara replies. "I've had some personal experience in that area, with my own family." She tells Greg a little about her mom and dad and the abuse, but not enough to get really emotional. "I never understood my dad, but I'm sure he didn't choose to be that way."

"I'm sorry, Sara. I didn't know that about your family. It's just too bad that people like your dad and like Pua weren't able to get help before it was too late." The waiter drops off their food and they both thank him before digging in. "You know, Grissom will be back soon."

Sara looks up at Greg. "Yeah."

"Well, I'm just thinking that by his reaction to you being on a 'date', that he won't be too happy about how things are progressing with us."

Sara doesn't say anything and Greg shoots her a worried look.

"Um…things…are…progressing with us…right? Cuz if they aren't, that's fine too. I mean, I like hanging out as friends and all. I just thought that with all our talk about dates that we really were going on dates. But-" Greg realizes he's blabbering and stops.

"Yeah." Sara smiles sheepishly at Greg. "I guess things are progressing. I just have been trying to not think about the whole…Grissom…thing. I know I should, but the situation is so complicated. I was chasing him for so long, you know, and then we had something going, and then he left with no real goodbye. It made me realize that he wasn't all I thought he was. But it's hard to just let go of the ideal. I'm trying, and you are definitely making it easier. I just didn't think it would be so tough. I'm sorry Greg. I know I shouldn't be heaping all my worries on you."

"It's OK, Sar. You can tell me your problems whenever you want. I will always listen." Greg says to Sara, grabbing her hand to squeeze it and then letting go. He grins, "Besides, I can take Grissom."

"You're probably right, but I don't really think you should. Can we just not say anything about us yet? I don't want problems, for me or you, at work."

"Not tell anyone, huh? Well, that can be fun too. That way we can sneak off under tables and in closets to have secret rendezvous, right?"

"Uh…sure, Greg. Whatever you say."

The two finish their food and leave the diner. Greg drives Sara back to the lab to her car. They sit in the car for a while, talking about where they would each like to go on vacation some day in the future.

"I really want to go to Hawaii." Greg says, "They have some great surfing over there, and you don't even need to have a passport to get there. Hot too, of course, but not like a desert."

"I don't know about Hawaii. I've never been that much of a beach person. But maybe it would be fun. I want to go to Egypt. Ride a camel to the pyramids." Sara replies, and then laughs.

"A camel?" Greg laughs with her. "Sara, I can't see you riding a camel."

"Why not? It might be fun."

"And that's just another desert. Don't you get enough of it here?"

"You don't have to come with me Greg. I'm just saying that some day I would like to vacation to Egypt."

"Well you can't go by yourself."

"You're right, it wouldn't be very fun by myself. I guess I'll just have to find someone to go with me that wants to ride camels around the desert."

Greg pouts at Sara and she laughs at him.

"We should really get going." Sara says. "Pretty soon we might as well just stay here till shift starts."

"You're right." Greg replies reluctantly. "I do need my beauty sleep."

"If you think that sleep can improve your looks, Greg, you're delusional."

Greg gasps at Sara and pouts again. "I can't believe you would say that Sara. You don't think I'm beautiful?"

"Beautiful…no. Extremely attractive, on the other hand…yes." Sara smiles, leaning over towards Greg. "I really need to go home now."

"You know one time you said you could kiss me." Greg says, also leaning over. "Does that offer still stand?"

Sara doesn't reply, at least not in words...


End file.
